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We’re 24 days in to 2011. In the last 24 days, several people have asked me questions like:

Any new year’s resolutions?

Do you have any big plans this year?

What are your 2011 goals?

Also known as… Renee, what the heck are you doing with your life in 2011? Well… that’s a good question.Drumroll please…

In 2011 I have no goals.

What?

The people I’ve mentioned that to have either: a) seemed shocked, or b) given me a hard time. Are there things I want to do better and ways I want to grow? Absolutely, and through weekly accountability meetings with a lovely girl named Whitney, I’m going to work on them. But goals? Nope. Resolutions? Uh-uh. A check list of some sort? Negative. So here’s what I AM doing. Instead of setting goals, I’m choosing ONE WORD to live by in 2011. I was inspired to choose one word for the year by another blog I follow. So, why one word? Well, I don’t really have a good, clean, concise answer to that question. It just seemed more fitting for where I am personally right now that I strive to make every area of my life reflect one consistent attitude rather than looking back at my journal daily, weekly, monthly to see if I’m adhering to a checklist of goals that I created for myself. So, that’s what’s up for the year.

So I set out to choose my word. I made a long list of possible words that came to mind. Things that I’ve been striving for lately. Words that reflect what I’ve been learning in different areas of my life, or just words that seemed like good things to live by. And then, one day as I was journaling about something totally different, my word flashed into my mind out of nowhere. And as soon as I thought about it and wrote it down, all I could say to myself was, “Duh! You mornon – it’s been right in front of you this whole time!” So… what is it?

RADICAL

If you read my last post about books I loved in 2010, you might presume that this word was borrowed from the title of David Platt’s book. If that was your guess, you would be absolutely right. That book turned my world upside down, possibly changing the trajectory of my life. This word is something God’s been laying on my heart a lot lately – even before I actually read the book. So, what does this mean? What is “living radically” going to look like practically? Well, to be honest – I’m not exactly sure. All I really know is that it’s going to be a process of discovery, growth, and dying to myself as I strive to be RADICAL in:

How I foster my relationships

How I give

How I use my gifts

How I spend my time

And certainly how I seek the Lord and strive to live like Christ

That’s it. One word. A year of living RADICALLY. Yeah, I’m a little nervous about this. Hang on, friends – there’s no telling what 2011 has in store. This could get crazy. 🙂